1
Improving Depression Screening
in Primary Care
Session 295, February 15, 2019
Yu-Hsiang Clara Lin, MD, FAAP Primary Care Physician, Physician Informaticist
Kimberly Chen, MSN RN-BC PMP Population Health Portfolio Manager
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Dr.Clara Lin, MD, FAAP
Has no real or apparent conflicts of interest to report.
Kimberly Chen, MSN RN-BC PMP
Has no real or apparent conflicts of interest to report.
Conflict of Interest
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• Learning Objectives
• Background
• Process Improvement for Depression Screening
• Health IT Implementation
• Outcome
• Next Steps
Agenda
4
• Recognize the importance of depression screening in the
primary care population
• Identify gaps and obstacles in the existing workflow that
contribute to underperformance in depression screening
and follow-up care
• Develop tools and optimization strategies to meet quality
goals in depression care
• Collect and interpret relevant clinical outcomes data after
project implementation
Learning Objectives
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UCLA Health by the Numbers
4 hospitals
• 795 inpatient beds
• 60,000 hospital encounters
per year
250+ outpatient practices
• 30+ specialties
• 1.9 million ambulatory visits
per year
– 310,000 primary care
population (59% patients in
plan where UCLA shares
some risk)
– 208,000 specialty care
population
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Depression Prevalence in Primary Care
Leading cause of disability worldwide
About 26% of adults and 20% of children have a diagnosable
behavioral health disorder in primary care setting; and more
patients receive behavioral health from Primary Care providers
than mental health specialists
UCLA Grand Challenge: Depression
A multifaceted effort to cut burden of depression in half by 2050,
and eliminate it by end of the century
Accountable Care Organizational Goals:
PREV-12: Screen patient for depression with age appropriate tool
and document follow-up if positive.
MH-1: Achieve depression remission 12 months after the initial
diagnosis
Why this matters…
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Depression Screening: Operational Standard
Diagnostic Evaluation: If either of the
questions on PHQ-2 is positive, then a
PHQ-9 is administered and documented
for provider review.
Follow-Up: Provider conducts appropriate
evaluation and management based on
PHQ-9 score.
Screening: For adults ages 18 and up
without prior depression risk factors, a
verbal PHQ-2 is administered annually,
upon rooming.
Documentation & Charging: Provider
documents in notes and drop charges
Verbal PHQ-2
(Annually)
negative
Administer
PHQ-9 on Paper
& Transcribe
positive
MD Review;
Referrals as
needed
MD Notes
Charge
Capture
PHQ9 < 5
PHQ9 >= 5; or Dx
Every 3 months
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)
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Pre-Intervention:
Screening
Verbal PHQ-2
(Annually)
10
Pre-Intervention:
Diagnostic Eval
Administer
PHQ-9 on Paper
& Transcribe
• If PHQ-9 is indicated, staff prints PHQ-9 form for patient to complete
in private and transcribes back into EHR
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Pre-Intervention:
Follow-Up
MD Review;
Referrals as
needed
• Provider reviews PHQ-9 score; addresses passive alerts
regarding depression risk and suicide ideation (requires action)
12
Pre-Intervention:
Documentation
MD Notes
Charge
Capture
• Provider often “hunt and peck” for screening results and
transcribes into notes
• Recall of appropriate codes to include in visit charging
13
Local Problems
• In Sept 2016, the PHQ-2 screening rate was only 16%
for all unique adult patients seen in participating primary
care offices.
• In Sept 2016, only 38% of the patients who endorsed
depression symptoms on PHQ-2 screening had a
documented PHQ-9 score.
Missed opportunity to screen for depression during
office visits in Primary Care offices
Incomplete follow-up for positive screenings!
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Continuous Improvement with PDCA
Plan
• Perform Site Visits & Surveys to Identify Challenges
• Review Current State and Brainstorm Workflow Redesign
Do
• Implement New Workflow
• Change Management, Onsite Training
Check
• Review Performance Reports
• Collect User Feedback
• Assess for Optimization Changes
Act
• Continue Monitoring of Performance
• Hardwire Excellence with Recognitions, Leadership Communication and Patient
Stories
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Screening & Diagnostic Eval (Clinic Staff)
1. Staff omission of depression screening: “I didn’t
think patient needed to be screened…”
2. Tedious PHQ-9 workflow: paper workflow and
manual transcription
Follow-Up (Providers)
3. Finding hidden screening results
4. Missing score interpretation: Time consuming to
interpret results and research patient management
options
Provider Documentation & Charging
5. Incomplete documentation of screening results
6. Missed opportunity to capture appropriate charges
Workflow Challenges Identified
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Continuous Improvement with PDCA
Plan
• Perform Site Visits & Surveys to Identify Challenges
• Review Current State and Brainstorm Workflow Redesign
Do
• Implement New Workflow
• Change Management, Onsite Training
Check
• Review Performance Reports
• Collect User Feedback
• Assess for Optimization Changes
Act
• Continue Monitoring of Performance
• Hardwire Excellence with Recognitions, Leadership Communication and Patient
Stories
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• Implement electronic patient-entered response: Behavioral
Health Checkup (BHC)
- Automatic integration of patient response into EHR
- Automatic summary note for provider review in EHR
• Reorganize depression & other screening tools
- Behavioral Screening Navigator
- smartText for quick documentation
- Task based orders to capture behavioral-health care charges
• Provide Operational Performance Feedback
- Clarity reporting for clinic managers
Health IT Solutions: Overview
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Problem 1: Staff omission of depression screening
Solution: Reinforced best practice workflow with additional staff
and physicians training
• Ambulatory Nursing Rounds
• Webinar Trainings
• Tip Sheets
• Training Website
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Problem 2: Tedious PHQ-9 workflow
Solution: Implement web-based workflow to collect patient
response
• Results and scores are automatically integrated with EHR
flowsheets, removing the need for manual transcription of the
PHQ-9
Paper PHQ-9
Electronic Behavioral Health Check-Up (BHC)
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Depression Screening: Operational Standard
Diagnostic Evaluation: If either of the
questions on PHQ-2 is positive, then a
PHQ-9 is administered and documented
for provider review.
Follow-Up: Provider conducts appropriate
evaluation and management based on
PHQ-9 score.
Screening: For adults ages 18 and up
without prior depression risk factors, a
verbal PHQ-2 is administered annually,
upon rooming.
Documentation & Charging: Provider
documents in notes and drop charges
Verbal PHQ-2
(Annually)
Administer
PHQ-9 on Paper
& Transcribe
MD Review;
Referrals as
needed
MD Notes
Charge
Capture
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)
Electronic
Patient Entered
PHQ-9 (BHC)
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Problem 3: Finding hidden screening results
Solution: Results readily accessible within dedicated Behavioral
Screening Navigator
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Problem 4: Missing score interpretation
Solution: Auto-generated Assessment Note; provider score
interpretation and patient education resources
23
Depression Screening: Operational Standard
Diagnostic Evaluation: If either of the
questions on PHQ-2 is positive, then a
PHQ-9 is administered and documented
for provider review.
Follow-Up: Provider conducts appropriate
evaluation and management based on
PHQ-9 score.
Screening: For adults ages 18 and up
without prior depression risk factors, a
verbal PHQ-2 is administered annually,
upon rooming.
Documentation & Charging: Provider
documents in notes and drop charges
Verbal PHQ-2
(Annually)
Electronic
Patient Entered
PHQ-9 (BHC)
MD Review;
Referrals as
needed
MD Notes
Charge
Capture
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)
Simplified
MD Review
Electronic
Patient Entered
PHQ-9 (BHC)
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Problem 5: Incomplete documentation of screening results
Solution: Leverage SmartPhrases to quickly pull in relevant scores
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Problem 6: Missed opportunity to capture appropriate charges
1. Provider places order
2. Staff completes task once
screening is completed.
3. Charges dropped
automatically (CPT code
96127 billable charge for
each questionnaire
completed)
Solution: automate billing with “Tasked Based Order Completion
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Depression Screening: Operational Standard
Diagnostic Evaluation: If either of the
questions on PHQ-2 is positive, then a
PHQ-9 is administered and documented
for provider review.
Follow-Up: Provider conducts appropriate
evaluation and management based on
PHQ-9 score.
Screening: For adults ages 18 and up
without prior depression risk factors, a
verbal PHQ-2 is administered annually,
upon rooming.
Documentation & Charging: Provider
documents in notes and drop charges
Verbal PHQ-2
(Annually)
Electronic
Patient Entered
PHQ-9 (BHC)
MD Review;
Referrals as
needed
MD Notes
Charge
Capture
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)
Electronic
Patient Entered
PHQ-9 (BHC)
Simplified
MD Review
Streamlined
Notes &
Charging
27
Continuous Improvement with PDCA
Plan
• Perform Site Visits & Surveys to Identify Challenges
• Review Current State and Brainstorm Workflow Redesign
Do
• Implement New Workflow
• Change Management, Onsite Training
Check
• Review Performance Reports
• Collect User Feedback
• Assess for Optimization Changes
Act
• Continue Monitoring of Performance
• Hardwire Excellence with Recognitions, Leadership Communication and Patient
Stories
28
Reinforce Best Practices:
Tracking Performance
• Tableau reports to track practice behavior at clinic level,
available to office managers in real time
• Financial incentives available for achieving performing
thresholds
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• Drilldown details available by user (Medical Assistant) for
Professional Performance Evaluation
Reinforce Best Practices:
Individualized Coaching
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Value/Outcome
• Pilot Sites (2 clinics: go-live Aug 2017)
• Additional Clinics (12 clinics: go-live Dec 2017)
• Remaining Primary Care Clinics (est go-live March 2019)
I
II
III
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0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
PHQ2 Screening Rate
PHQ 2 Screening Rate
74%
16%
PHQ-2 Screening Rate =
Patients screened with PHQ-2
Total unique patients due for screening
I
I II
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PHQ-9 Completion Rate
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
PHQ-9 Screening Rate (When PHQ-2 Is Positive)
91%
38%
PHQ-9 Completion Rate =
Patients with positive PHQ-2
And completed PHQ-9
Total unique patients with positive PHQ-2
I II
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Total Documented PHQ-9 by month
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
N_PHQ9_SCRNINGS
June 2018:
956
Sept 2016:
73
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Management Outcome
2016
2017
2018 (
est)
% New Depression
Diagnosis (count)
1.7%
(1,421)
2.0%
(6,189)
3.2%
(2,016)
Psychiatry/Psychology
Referrals
13.8%
(25,670)
16.4%
(28,830)
17.8%
(19,484)
2016
2017
2018
(est)
96127 Charges
($
reimbursed)
2231
($15,117)
4809
($39,160)
9094
($80,734)
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STEPS to Value
• Population Management: Improved universal depression
screening rate
• Treatment/Clinical: Improving our diagnosis and management of
depression and other co-morbidities in primary care
• Treatment/Clinical: Increasing referrals to appropriate
specialists
• Electronic Secure Data: Discrete data are now searchable and
trackable
• Savings: Improved risk adjusted coding
and appropriate charge capture
36
Optimization:
Express Lane (to package depression related content)
Direct external link to questionnaires from CareConnect
Prompt provider with correct TBOC charge suggestions
Examine Patient Outcomes:
ED utilization
Benzodiazepine Use
Depression remission
Expanding Patient Resources:
Internet CBT Referrals
Headspace Integration
Patient Psychoeducation Handouts
Next Steps
